General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2015

Aug 2015

Jun 19, 2022

Arati Prabhakar to be Appointed as Science Adviser to the President of US

US President Joe Biden is expected to name Arati Prabhakar as the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She will succeed Eric Lander who left the role nine months after his appointment after he admitted to bullying his staff and creating a hostile work environment during his tenure.
Once the Senate approves the 63-year-old's appointment, Arati would be the first woman and the first person of color to serve as science adviser to the President of the United States. Her role will require advising Biden on how to compete with China, bring forth rules which will protect US-funded academic research from theft and aim to reduce inequality within the research community.
Arati also served in top roles during the presidential tenures of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The Clinton administration picked her to lead the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Obama administration picked her to lead the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

EU Leaders Back Immediate Candidate Status for Kyiv

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania have backed Ukraine's bid to join the EU, saying it should be given "immediate" candidate status.
"Ukraine belongs to the European family," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint briefing in Kyiv.
But he added that Ukraine still had to meet the accession criteria in full.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the 27-member EU would stand by Ukraine until its victory against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia's continuing aggression as a war "against the united Europe", adding that the "most effective weapon" was unity.

Jun 18, 2022

Somali President Appoints New Prime Minister

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appointed Hamza Abdi Barre as the country's new Prime Minister to replace Mohamed Roble who has been in office since September 2020.
Barre, a Member of Parliament from the Lower House of Parliament is a close ally of President Mohamud and member of the President's political party.

For the First Time in a Decade, WTO Members Reach Historic Deal

For the first time in a decade, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a 164-nation body, finalised a historic deal at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12).
The four-day MC12 was extended by a day as trade ministers negotiated.
India has agreed to the proposal of no export restrictions on the World Food Programme. But internal food security concerns will take precedence. There is no work programme on agriculture, which could be considered as a good outcome for India as our agri subsidy will not face any further scrutiny.

Federal Reserve of the US Raises Interest Rates for the First Time Since 1994

The US Federal Reserve increased its main interest rate by three-quarters of a per cent, the largest increase in almost three decades, and signalled that more large rate increases are on the way, boosting the likelihood of another recession. The Fed's decision, announced following its most recent policy meeting, would boost its benchmark short-term rate to a range of 1.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent, affecting many consumer and commercial loans.
In reaction to the Fed's actions, borrowing costs have already increased dramatically throughout most of the US economy, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surpassing 6%, its highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, up from just 3% at the start of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which is used as a benchmark for corporate borrowing, has risen to 3.3 percent, the highest since 2007.

Jun 17, 2022

Coursera Global Skills Report 2022

Coursera's latest Global Skills Report (GSR) 2022 revealed India's overall skills proficiency slipped four places to be ranked at the 68th position globally. In Asia, India stood at the 19th position. The report findings further revealed an increase in India's technology proficiency levels from 38% to 46%, with the country strengthening its position by six spots. On the other hand, proficiency in data science dipped from 38% in 2021 to 26% in 2022, leading to a 12-rank drop.
For the second year in a row, Switzerland had the highest-skilled learners followed by Denmark, Indonesia, and Belgium.

Egypt Hosts Eighth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Sharm El Sheikh

The Egyptian House of Representatives, in cooperation with Inter-Parliamentary Union, organised the eighth Forum of Young Parliamentarians in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The annual forum aimed to promote youth participation in politics and create a platform for them to present their opinions on international challenges and issues and suggest solutions.
Young parliamentarians from around 90 countries arrive, which is believed to be an achievement for Sahar Al-Bazzar, a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, for the Young Parliamentarians Forum of the Inter-Parliamentary Union as the first female Egyptian parliamentarian to hold this international position, in an intellectual attempt to rally all international efforts at all organisational and legislative levels toward the need to find solutions to the climate change issues as the most distinguished global challenge.
Nagaland's first woman elected as Member of Parliament to Rajya Sabha S. Phangon Konyak represented India at the Conference. She, along with two other young Lok Sabha MPs from India, shared her thoughts on the 'Young MPs for Climate Actions'.

Jun 16, 2022

Biden Nominates Indian-American Security Expert Radha Iyengar to top Pentagon Position

US President Joe Biden nominated security expert Radha Iyengar Plumb to the post of Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, the latest Indian-American to be named for a key position.
Plumb is currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defence.
Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, Plumb was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Safety at Google, leading their cross-functional teams on business analytics, data science and technical research.
She has also previously served as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook, where she focused on high-risk/high-harm safety and critical international security issues.

Denmark and Canada Strike Deal to End 50-year Row over Arctic Island

Denmark and Canada struck a deal to settle almost 50 years of good-natured squabbling over the ownership of a small, uninhabited Arctic island.
Since 1971, the countries were "fighting" the "Whisky Wars" to settle competing claims over Hans Island.
Successive expeditions from Ottawa and Copenhagen braved icy conditions to plant bottles of alcohol on the tiny 1.2 sq. km (0.75 sq-mile) rock.
But now officials have agreed to divide the outpost roughly in half.
The prank war began after the countries convened to settle boundary disputes in the Nares Strait, a channel 35 km (22 miles) wide of cold water separating Canada and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
In 1973 they struck a deal to create a border through the strait, but while they negotiated, competing claims emerged over the tiny island.

Jun 15, 2022

Mahatma Gandhi-Luther King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Launched in US

The US Department of State launched the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange initiative which explores the histories and legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The first-of-its-kind initiative brings together 20 emerging young civic leaders from India and the United States to advance civil rights, social justice, and inclusion on the local, national and international levels. This exchange was championed by late civil rights leader John Lewis.
In addition to classroom learning and discussion, participants will visit civil rights sites in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia. In January 2023, the Indian and US participants will reconvene in India to visit important sites, communities and organisations that build upon their academic curriculum, which is centred around the academic themes of peace, non-violence, and conflict resolution, and build their leadership capacities.

FATF Set to Review Pakistan for Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing

Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog tasked with combatting money laundering and terrorist financing, is all set for its strategic review of Pakistan and decide whether the country will retain its place in the "Grey List" or exit. This meeting is especially crucial for Pakistan as the country continues to remain on the watchdog's "grey list" for failing to check terror financing.
Pakistan has been on the Paris-based FATF's grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018. In June 2021, the country was given three months to fulfil the remaining conditions by October. However, Pakistan was retained on the FATF "grey list" for failing to effectively implement the global FATF standards and for its lack of progress in the investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups.

US Holds First Summit of 'West Asia Quad' with India, Israel and UAE

US President Joe Biden hosted a virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to West Asia from July 13 to 16. The new grouping is be called "I2U2" — "I" for India and Israel and "U" for the US and UAE.
In October 2021, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries took place when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Israel. At that time, it was called the 'International Forum for Economic Cooperation'. This time, the meeting will take place at the level of heads of government/state — an upgrade.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26